Page 55 of Rebel for Claws
"Then every leader in this room represents untapped potential," Maya finished, her scientific mind clearly racing through the possibilities. "Not just political power, but actual supernatural abilities that could reshape our entire shifter society."
The room erupted into heated discussion, voices overlapping as leaders grappled with revelations that challenged everything they thought they knew about their own nature. Alaric watched Vivian closely, noting the slight tension in her shoulders as she waited for the emotional storm to settle.
She's not done. There's more she needs to tell them.
"There's something else," Vivian said, her voice cutting through the chaos with razor precision. The room fell silent again, anticipation crackling like electricity. "The secondary prophecy has a hidden clause that Lena discovered. The mating of the last descendant of the original ancient shapeshifter bloodline and the Silvercrest Alpha will either unite all wolves in the Pacific Northwest Cascade territory—or destroy everything completely."
And there it is. The truth that's been haunting us both for days.
Alaric felt the blood drain from several faces around the room. Alpha Gage sat down heavily, while Beta Kane's hand moved instinctively toward his concealed weapon. The leaders exchanged glances loaded with implications, and he couldpractically see the political calculations spinning behind their eyes.
"You're telling us," Elder Callum said slowly, "that completing your mate bond could potentially annihilate every wolf shifter in the territory."
"Or it could unlock abilities that finally allow us to coexist with humans, to evolve beyond the limitations the High Council imposed, and to become what our ancestors were meant to be," Vivian countered.
The weight of an entire civilization's future resting on his shoulders. No pressure whatsoever.
Alaric moved to stand beside his mate, his presence radiating the calm authority that had kept the Silvercrest pack stable for thirty years. "The hidden clause is ambiguous by design," he said, his enhanced senses reading the room's emotional temperature with supernatural precision. "Prophecies are warnings, not certainties. They show us possible futures, not inevitable ones."
"But the risk—" Alpha Gage started.
"The risk of maintaining the status quo is extinction," Elena interrupted, her rebellion leader instincts cutting straight to the heart of the matter. "Thorne isn't going to stop with coordinated strikes. He's going to keep escalating until he's eliminated every threat to his power, which means all of us."
She's right. We're already on a path to destruction. The question is whether we choose to go down fighting.
Damon stepped forward, his analytical mind offering a different perspective. "The prophecy speaks of uniting or destroying all wolves in the territory. It doesn't specify whether that destruction would be physical annihilation or the destruction of our current social structure."
"A distinction that matters," Logan added grimly, "because our current social structure is already destroying us from within."
The room fell into contemplative silence as leaders processed the implications. Alaric watched emotions flicker across faces—fear, hope, determination, and resignation. These were warriors and strategists, people accustomed to making life-and-death decisions, but the scope of this choice was unprecedented.
The future of our entire world, hanging in the balance of a mate bond.
"We're not asking anyone to make this decision for us," Vivian said finally, her voice carrying the quiet strength that had first captivated him. "Alaric and I will choose our own path. But you all deserve to know what that choice might mean for the territory, for your packs, and for your families."
Alaric felt a surge of fierce pride through their bond. Even facing potential universal condemnation, she stood tall, refusing to hide from the truth or shift responsibility to others.
This is why she's perfect for me. Fearless in the face of impossible odds.
"What we're asking," he added, his Alpha authority lending weight to the words, "is that you trust us to make that choice with full awareness of the consequences. And that whatever happens, we face it together as allies, not enemies."
The leaders began to file out of the grand hall, their conversations subdued but purposeful. Some cast uncertain glances toward Alaric and Vivian, while others offered subtle nods of support. The atmosphere was thick with unresolved tension, hope, and fear in equal measure.
Mixed reactions, as expected. But no one's calling for our immediate exile or execution, so that's progress.
As the last of the leaders disappeared through the hall's ancient doorways, Alaric turned to his mate, reading the exhaustion and determination warring in her violet eyes.
"That," he said quietly, "was either the bravest thing I've ever witnessed, or the most strategically dangerous."
Vivian's smile held equal parts weariness and fierce satisfaction. "Probably both. But at least now everyone knows exactly what they're fighting for—or against."
Indeed. Now we discover whether truth is stronger than fear.
TWENTY-FIVE
VIVIAN
The leather seats of Alaric's SUV seemed to amplify every unspoken tension between them as they drove through the winding mountain roads back to his estate. Vivian watched the December landscape blur past, but her attention kept darting to the rigid set of Alaric's shoulders and the white-knuckled grip he maintained on the steering wheel.
